Plane Crash Kills Polish President

Warsaw, PolandA plane crash has taken the lives of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, military officials and the head of the Polish national bank. The plane, carrying 67 people in all, crashed on April 10, when it attempted to land at a Russian airport. According to news reports, there were no survivors in the airplane crash.

Kaczynski and his delegation were on their way to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Polish prisoners of war in Katyn. The plane took off from Warsaw and attempted to land at the airport at Smolensk in heavy fog.

USA Today (04/10/10) reports that Russian dispatchers asked the plane's crew to divert to Minsk or Moscow because of the fog. However, the pilot, who had the final decision about whether to land, chose to land at Smolensk.

According to CNN (04/10/10) the plane involved in the crash was refurbished and repaired in December, 2009. That refurbishing included rebuilding the engines.

In Poland, the president is the head of state but not the head of government, so essential services will continue to run. Elections will be held within 60 days to find Kaczynski's successor.

Along with Kaczynski, those killed in the crash included Maria Kaczynska, the president's wife, Ryszard Kaczorowski, Poland's last president-in-exile, Aleksander Szczyglo, the head of the National Security Office, Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister and Gen. Franciszek Gagor, the army chief of staff.

The plane involved in the crash was a Tu-154. In the past five years, there have been six plane crashes involving Tu-154s.

Russia has said it will investigate the crash. Poland has declared a week of national mourning following the Polish plane crash.